Boyd Norton (born April 8, 1936) is an American photographer, known for his work in wilderness photography and his environmental activism. He is the photographer/author of 17 books covering topics such as from African elephants, mountain gorillas, Siberia's

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

and issues of Alaskan and Rocky Mountain conservation. He contributed photographs to the Environmental Protection Agency's Documerica project in the early 1970s.

Life and career

In August 1960, during a cross-country trip to California, Norton fell in love with the Teton Range and took a job as a nuclear scientist with the United States Atomic Energy Commission in Idaho Falls, IdahoBoyd Norton (2016), Conservation Photography Handbook, chapter 1, Amherst Media so that he could live nearby.

Hells Canyon Hells Canyon is a canyon in the Western United States, located along the border of eastern Oregon, a small section of eastern Washington and western Idaho. It is part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area which is also located in p ...

, located at the border of Oregon and Idaho, was the first place where Norton used his photography to further an environmental cause. In 1969, his photographs of Hells Canyon were instrumental in convincing Oregon

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Bob Packwood to introduce the establishing

Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area on the borders of the U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, the recreation area was es ...

. His photographs also helped establish

Jedediah Smith Wilderness The Jedediah Smith Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Designated wilderness by Congress in 1984, Jedediah Smith Wilderness is within Caribou-Targhee National Forest and borders Grand Teton National Park. Spanning along the wester ...

next to Grand Teton National Park, and the Sawtooth National Wilderness. His book ''Alaska: Wilderness Frontier'' described the lands that would be protected by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. At his request, copies of the book were sent to every member of congress. Since then, his environmental activism has extended worldwide. In 1990, together with David Brower, he lobbied Russian Foreign Minister

Edward Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე}, romanized: ; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia for ...

to gain support for the designation of Siberia's Lake Baikal as a World Heritage Site. The book with his photographs that chronicles the journey taken by Peter Matthiessen brought Lake Baikal to the attention of English-language readers. In 2010, Norton and Dave Blanton co-founded Serengeti Watch to oppose a commercial highway across the Serengeti National Park. His book ''Serengeti: The Eternal Beginning'' resulting from 26 years of photography in the Serengeti was called a "huge success as a platform for conservation." He has himself written a ''Conservation Photography Handbook''. Boyd Norton is a founder and Fellow of the

International League of Conservation Photographers International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. He was on the board of directors for the North American Nature Photography Association.http://www.nanpa.org/wp-content/uploads/Boards-of-Directors-List-for-NANPA.pdf In 2015, he received the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography The Ansel Adams Award for Photography, formally called Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, named in honor of American photographer Ansel Adams, is a photography award administered by the Sierra Club. The award "honor photographers wh ...

. File:ABANDONED BUILDING - NARA - 549221.jpg File:WHITE CANYON NEAR SIPAPU BRIDGE. NATURAL BRIDGES NATIONAL MONUMENT - NARA - 545300.jpg File:SHIPROCK IN SMOG - PHOTOGRAPHED FROM MESA VERDE - NARA - 544944.jpg File:TRANQUIL STRETCH OF THE SNAKE RIVER IN HELLS CANYON ON THE IDAHO-OREGON STATE LINE. ALTERNATION OF THE RIVER BETWEEN... - NARA - 549445.jpg File:FOREST OF ASPENS AT OWL CREEK PASS - NARA - 544872.jpg File:ANCIENT INDIAN DWELLING, BUILT BETWEEN 1100 AND 1300 A.D HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT - NARA - 544949.jpg File:BARREL CACTUS IN BLOOM. HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT - NARA - 544891.jpg File:ERODED SANDSTONE, PART OF INDIAN RUINS DATING FROM 1100 TO 1300 A.D - NARA - 544907.jpg File:ZOME HOUSE USING SOLAR HEATING BUILT NEAR CORRALES, NEW MEXICO. THE MODULAR INTERCONNECTED UNITS ARE HEXAGON SHAPED... - NARA - 555306.jpg

Books

* ''Conservation Photography Handbook: How to Save the World One Photo at a Time'', Amherst Media, 2016 * ''Serengeti: The Ethernal Beginning'', Fulcrum Publishing, 2011 * ''Baikal: Sacred Sea of Siberia'', Sierra Club, 1995 * ''The African Elephant: The Last Days of Eden'' Voyageur Press, 1991 * ''The Mountain Gorilla'', Voyageur Press, 1990 * ''Divided Twins: Alaska and Siberia'', Viking Studio, 1988 * ''Alaska: Wilderness Frontier'', Reader's Digest Press, 1977 * ''Rivers of the Rockies'', Rand McNally, 1975 * ''The Grand Tetons'', Viking, 1974 * ''Snake Wilderness'', Sierra Club, 1972

References

External links

*
International League of Conservation PhotographersNorth American Nature Photographers Association

The Day I Blew Up A Nuclear Reactor
by Boyd Norton on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Boyd Living people Nature photographers Landscape photographers 20th-century American photographers 21st-century American photographers American environmentalists 1936 births